Tournament Prep. Help

[Greasy_SSBM]

Hiya!

So today was my first tournament with a real payout, and I think I did well. I made my goal, placing in the top ten (I placed 9th out of 16th) however, I noticed many things wrong.

For starters, I was shaking uncontrollably out of nervousness. I couldn't calm down, and this really brought my mental state down. My general question is, will this go away? Is this just because it was my first tournament ever?

Next, I practice a lot-and I mean a LOT-by myself, which I understand can only go so far, but I'm seeing a lot of self improvement. I personally have a dislike for Netplay, so I prefer to practice with friends if I should practice with people. Anyways, while I practice by myself on the 20xx Hack Pack, I can't apply my movement/tech skill to the real matches, or at least I can't apply it very much. Is there a way to expand on this?

Finally, this is a weekly tournament, so I plan on going back next Saturday. Is there any advice anyone could spare me, as I don't want to keep up this nervous shaking and the bad mindset. It is really deteriorating my mindset/tech skill within the actual matches.

Thanks a lot to whomever responds!
~Greasy

 

[Dandy_here]

The jitters go away fast. really fast. Don't practice by yourself too much. If your friends suck, then don't play them often. Netplay is honestly not that bad, and you'll learn way faster than by yourself. If your friends aren't bad then by all means play with them, I prefer netplay since no one I live near even plays melee. The reason you cant apply tech skill yet is because of a. A tournament environment is way different from friendlies with your friends, b. because you simply just haven't played enough actual matches to apply techskill, and c. Because you are new(I actually never had that problem, but it also took me a while before I convinced my mom to take me to a tourney.) You need to not think about anything but the match. Your techskill is looking weak, play to whatever advantage you have. Your hands bothering you, take a break, stretch your wrist. Perhaps you need to play some music. If you need any sort of training, I can help you out. I could probably much easier explain mindset by talking, but I hope this helped

 

[Dolla Pills]

Netplay will probably help you with the shaking. The reason you're nervous at tournaments is probably because you're around a bunch of people you don't know and playing them is difficult, maybe especially so because you feel like you need to impress them with your skill (not necessarily the case but oftentimes it is). Playing people online should help that to some extent, but once you go to more tournaments it will eventually work itself out.

The first real tournament I went to I was super nervous at first, and the first set I played was not so much unable to apply tech skill as I was just dropping some basic punishes and edgeguards/edge pressure that hurt me a lot. What helped me though was while I was playing in losers I noticed the other people taking deep breaths and pausing to recollect themselves, and I realized they were nervous too. Then I was able to play better because it took some pressure off of me. To this day I think I still play better in losers because there's more on the line, but the nerves haven't been as big of a deal.

 

[Greasy_SSBM]

Netplay will probably help you with the shaking. The reason you're nervous at tournaments is probably because you're around a bunch of people you don't know and playing them is difficult, maybe especially so because you feel like you need to impress them with your skill (not necessarily the case but oftentimes it is). Playing people online should help that to some extent, but once you go to more tournaments it will eventually work itself out.

The first real tournament I went to I was super nervous at first, and the first set I played was not so much unable to apply tech skill as I was just dropping some basic punishes and edgeguards/edge pressure that hurt me a lot. What helped me though was while I was playing in losers I noticed the other people taking deep breaths and pausing to recollect themselves, and I realized they were nervous too. Then I was able to play better because it took some pressure off of me. To this day I think I still play better in losers because there's more on the line, but the nerves haven't been as big of a deal.

Thanks a lot for the advice! When I play this upcoming Saturday, Ill take that into account. And I guess I could try Netplay again, as I do see where you're coming from, so I will give it a shot.

 

[Greasy_SSBM]

The jitters go away fast. really fast. Don't practice by yourself too much. If your friends suck, then don't play them often. Netplay is honestly not that bad, and you'll learn way faster than by yourself. If your friends aren't bad then by all means play with them, I prefer netplay since no one I live near even plays melee. The reason you cant apply tech skill yet is because of a. A tournament environment is way different from friendlies with your friends, b. because you simply just haven't played enough actual matches to apply techskill, and c. Because you are new(I actually never had that problem, but it also took me a while before I convinced my mom to take me to a tourney.) You need to not think about anything but the match. Your techskill is looking weak, play to whatever advantage you have. Your hands bothering you, take a break, stretch your wrist. Perhaps you need to play some music. If you need any sort of training, I can help you out. I could probably much easier explain mindset by talking, but I hope this helped

I have three friends who are very good, whom I prefer to play against, and two of which placed top 8 this past weekend. But that's besides the point. I think I will give Netplay another shot, and maybe try playing music as well. And I would definitely love more help, hopefully we could set something up over this week. Thanks a ton man!

 

[DoomCake196]

Actually, i always recommend practicing in person. Battling with people who you see is much different than finding somebody online. First, it could get you used to outside factors such as talking, heavy breathing and the clicking of the buttons. Also, sometimes (or a lot) you find scrubs online , which won't help you practice much. With your friends you know that they're good. Also, practice marth just a little more because you'll be seeing a lot of fox and marth counters fox better than sheik.

 

[Greasy_SSBM]

Actually, i always recommend practicing in person. Battling with people who you see is much different than finding somebody online. First, it could get you used to outside factors such as talking, heavy breathing and the clicking of the buttons. Also, sometimes (or a lot) you find scrubs online , which won't help you practice much. With your friends you know that they're good. Also, practice marth just a little more because you'll be seeing a lot of fox and marth counters fox better than sheik.

Thanks so much for the input! that's exactly how I feel-I totally prefer playing with actual people. I also believe people play different in person than over wifi. And I will definitely keep training my Marth more then! Thanks a lot man!

 

[yttik]

sheik at a lower level is much easier to play than marth, so i don't think you'll be throwing yourself off much if you practise both characters

 

[Greasy_SSBM]

sheik at a lower level is much easier to play than marth, so i don't think you'll be throwing yourself off much if you practise both characters

Okay! Thank you!

 

[EPsilon933]

Tied for 9th isn't top 10. 4 other players tied with you. It's top 12

Your nerves are a matter of psychology. You've practiced tech skill in the lab and your brain has memory cues for how to do things there, but not at tournament settings. Keep playing in them to create the memory cues for tech skill there and you'll keep your tech skill in good consistency there too. Training alone work fix the problem